Golf club and method for use to improve golf game

ABSTRACT

Golf club includes a head having a front, ball-striking surface and a cavity arranged to removably retain therein a ball. The front surface includes an opening communicating with the cavity and arranged apart from peripheral edges of the front face such that an annular portion of the front face surrounds the opening. The head is constructed without structure in front of the opening such that when the golf club is swung against a ball, passage of the ball through the opening into the cavity is used to evaluate the swinging of the golf club. The head may include one or more channels leading from the cavity to a rear face and/or to a side face to allow flow of air from the cavity during the swing. A ball removal mechanism may be incorporated into the head to facilitate removal of the ball from the cavity.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S.provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/379,593 filed Sep. 2, 2010,incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a golf club, and morespecifically to a golf driver, that may be used to assist a golfer indeveloping the skill of maintaining their eyes on the ball during theswing, referred to sometimes herein as eye contact, as well asdeveloping consistency in their swing.

The present invention also relates to a method for practicing swingingof a golf club and in particular for practicing the golf driving strokein order to develop the necessary hand/eye coordination to better drivethe golf ball during a game of golf.

The present invention also relates generally to a new construction of agolf club that may be used to learn the golf driving stroke, and moreparticularly by golfers to practice or improve their golf driving strokeby concentrating or focusing on their swing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are numerous apparatus that enable a golfer to practice swinging agolf club in order to improve their swing, whether driving with a golfdriver or putting with a golf putter. However, there is ongoingdevelopment of new apparatus that address drawbacks of existingapparatus.

The present invention is one such apparatus that improves on existingapparatus and enables a golfer to practice or improve their golf game,and specifically, eye contact.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new golf club thatcan be used to develop eye contact.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new method forpracticing swinging a driver for golf.

A golf club in accordance with the invention that may achieve one orboth of these objects includes a head having a front, ball-strikingsurface and a cavity arranged to retain therein a ball. The frontsurface includes an opening communicating with the cavity and arrangedapart from peripheral edges of the front face such that an annularportion of the front face surrounds the opening. The head is constructedwithout structure in front of the opening such that when the golf clubis swung against a ball, passage of the ball through the opening intothe cavity is used to evaluate the swinging of the golf club. Capture ofthe ball is considered to be an appropriate stroke whereas contact ofthe ball with the annular portion of the front face is considered animprecise stroke. The cavity is configured to prevent movement of theball therefrom after capture during the swing, i.e., at least until thegolfer manually retrieves the ball from the cavity or otherwisemanipulates the golf club to release the ball from the cavity. The headalso preferably includes one or more channels leading from the cavity toa rear face and/or to a side face to allow flow of air from the cavityduring the swing and thereby aid in passage of the ball into the cavity.

In one embodiment, the opening is positioned on the front face in asweet spot of the head determined based on, for example, dimensions ofthe head. Also, the opening preferably has a size larger than across-sectional size of the ball so that exact alignment of the openingwith the ball is not required in order to capture the ball in thecavity. The golf club may be used in combination with any type, size ofball, e.g., with a ball made substantially entirely of a soft material.

A method for practicing swinging of a golf club in accordance with theinvention includes providing a golf club as described above, placing aball on a support, then swinging the golf club while attempting tocapture the ball in the cavity, and evaluating the swing of the golfclub based on whether the ball was captured in the cavity or not.Parameters of a subsequent swing may be adjusted based on the evaluationof the swing when the ball is not captured in the cavity.

The above-mentioned objects and other objects of the present inventionare attained in accordance with the golf club of the present inventionand method for its use which are described hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention, together with further objects and advantages thereof, maybest be understood by reference to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like referencenumerals identify like elements.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lower portion of a first embodiment ofa golf club including a head in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the golf club head shown in FIG. 1 with a balltherein.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a second embodiment of a golf club head inaccordance with the invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a third embodiment of a golf club head inaccordance with the invention.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the golf club shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view through a fourth embodiment of a golfclub in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view through a fifth embodiment of a golfclub in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 10 is a front view of a sixth embodiment of a golf club head inaccordance with the invention.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 11-11 in FIG. 10.

FIGS. 12 and 13 are front views of collars that may be used to reducethe size of the opening in the golf clubs in accordance with theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numeralsrefer to the same or similar elements, the invention constitutes a novelconstruction of a golf club that may be used to improve golfing skills,including hand/eye coordination, and FIGS. 1-13 generally illustrate agolf driver or part thereof. Although a golf driver is illustrated anddescribed as an example of a golf club to which the invention isapplicable, the invention is equally applicable to other types of golfclubs, including but not limited to irons.

FIG. 1 shows a head 10 of a golf driver 8 having a front, ball-strikingface 12 with an opening 14 in an interior area, i.e., the opening isapart from peripheral edges of the front face 12. As such, an annularportion of the front face 12 surrounds the opening 14. The opening 14leads to a cavity 16 that is substantially closed from behind, i.e., itis closed to the extent that it does not allow a golf ball that canenter the opening 14 to pass out of the cavity 16 rearward during theswing. Preferably, the opening 14 is situated in the “sweet spot” of thehead 10, i.e., that spot that when striking the ball, provides theoptimum drive.

However, channels 18 are formed between the side face 20 and/or rearface of the head 10 to allow air to pass from the cavity 16 to theoutside (as best seen in FIG. 3). The number and shape of the channels18 is not material to the invention, and thus can be a single channel ora plurality of channels, and the channels 18 can be designed based onthe size and shape of the head 10. The intended purpose of the channels18 is to prevent an air pressure build-up in the cavity 16 during aswinging movement of the golf club 8 which could adversely affect theswing because the pressure build-up would exert a force againstretention of the ball 24 in the cavity 16.

In addition to the head 10, the golf driver 8 includes other componentsstandard or known for inclusion in a golf driver, e.g., a shaft 22, onlypart of which is shown and a grip (not shown) arranged at the upper endregion of the shaft 22.

The head 10 is preferably dimensioned to be larger than a conventionalgolf driver head, i.e., oversized.

Opening 14 is dimensioned relative to a ball 24 to be used with the golfdriver 10, see FIG. 2. Opening 14 may therefore have the samecross-sectional size as or be slightly larger than the cross-sectionalsize of the conventional golf ball, but may also be used in combinationwith a specifically sized golf ball having a larger or small diameterthan a conventional golf ball.

Moreover, to enable use of a training apparatus that comprises the golfdriver 8 and a ball 24 indoors and/or in a home setting, the ball 24 maybe made of a soft material. In this manner, if the golfer swings thedriver 8 and the annular portion of the front face 12 is brought intocontact with the ball 24, the ball 24 is propelled forward but isunlikely to damage property. Use of the ball 24 made of soft material isnot, however, limited to indoors and/or in a home setting and may beused anywhere the golfer desires.

In an exemplifying use of the apparatus, the golfer prepares the ball 24by placing it on a support, for example, a tee, and then after clearingsufficient area in which to swing the driver 8, the golfer swings thedriver 8 and tries to capture the ball 24 in the cavity 16 by swingingwith such precision that the opening 14 is brought into alignment withthe ball 24 allowing the ball 24 to pass through the opening 14 into thecavity 16. If the golfer does not swing precisely, then the annularportion of the front face 12 of the head 10 will strike the ball 24 andpropel the ball 24 forward.

Obviously, the larger the opening 14 relative to the diameter orcross-sectional size or area of the ball 24, the easier it will be forthe golfer to capture the ball 24. Capture of the ball 24 in the cavity16 is aided by the presence of the channels 18 because air trapped inthe cavity 16 during the swing flows out of the cavity 16 through thechannels 18 and thus does not prevent retention of the ball 24 in thecavity 16 (as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3).

Furthermore, if the opening 14 is in the sweet spot, capturing the ball24 in the cavity 16 will indicate that the golfer has optimally swungthe driver 8, which is particularly important if the golfer is using theapparatus to improve their eye contact.

Indeed, the apparatus is extremely useful to enable a golfer to developtheir hand-eye coordination because they can keep their head down andfocus on the ball 24 while swinging the driver 8, and swing whileattempting to capture the ball 24 in the cavity 16. The golfer cancontinue to practice with the apparatus until they can continuouslycapture the ball 24 in the cavity 16 and thereby improve their hand/eyecoordination which could be converted to a better golf drive strokeduring an actual round of golf and the golfer would swing and improvethe likelihood of the sweet spot on the front face of an actual golfdriver striking the ball.

Accordingly, the driver 8 may be used to teach the skill of maintainingthe golfer's eyes on the ball 24 during the swing. Such skills, i.e.,concentration, eye contact and focus, are difficult to learn, especiallyfor beginner golfers. However, using the driver 8, or another type ofgolf club with the same features as driver 8 aside from head shape anddimensions, a golfer can develop proper form for their swing by trainingtheir brain to capture the ball 24 in the cavity 16, and not focus onwatching the ball after impact. Anticipation of the shot is also removedsince, ideally, the ball 24 will be captured in the cavity 16. Once thegolfer develops their skill of swing the driver 8 to strike the ball 24in the sweet spot and thereby capture the ball 24 in the cavity 16, thegolfer should see an improvement in their golf game.

Yet another advantage of the use of the driver 8 is that golfer candevelop their swing consistency by practicing use of the driver 8 untilthe ball 24 is consistently and repeatedly captured in the cavity 16.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, another embodiment of a driver inaccordance with the invention is designated generally as 30 and includesa mechanism to enable easy removal of the ball 24 from the cavity 16 byenhancing access to the cavity 16. Specifically, the cavity accessingmechanism comprises a pair of fold-out doors 32 connected via hinges orpivot pins 34 to the body 36 of the driver 30, in a manner forconnection well-known to those skilled in the art. Fold-out doors 32 aresmall doors that, in combination, do not extend across the entireopening 14. Fold-out doors 32 are not situated in front of the opening14 because they do not impede ingress of a ball 24 through the opening14 into the cavity 16. Rather, fold-out doors are shaped, e.g., with thecurvature as shown, to enable the ball 24 to easily pass through theopening 14 into the cavity 16. The hinge or pivot pins 34 are configuredto enable the fold-out doors 32 to pivot or swing outward therebyincreasing access to the cavity 16 and the ball 24 when present thereinafter use of the driver 30.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, another embodiment of a driver inaccordance with the invention is designated generally as 40 and includesa different mechanism to enable easy removal of the ball 24 from thecavity 16 by enhancing access to the cavity 16. Specifically, the cavityaccessing mechanism comprises a flip door 42 connected via one or morehinges or pivot pins 44 to a body 46 of the driver 40, in a manner forconnection well-known to those skilled in the art. Flip door 42 isarranged at the top of the driver 40, see FIG. 7, and flips up to enablerelease of the ball when present in the cavity 16 after use of thedriver 40. Alternatively, the flip door 42 may be configured to flipinward into the cavity 16 to eject the ball 24 therefrom.

FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of yet another embodiment of a golfdriver in accordance with the invention which is designated generally as50 and is very similar to golf driver 8 shown in FIGS. 1-3 with theexception that instead of a closed cavity 16, the cavity is open at therear and thus forms a through channel 52 having an opening 54 in thefront face 12 of the driver 50 and another opening 56 in the rear orside face 20 of the driver 50. As shown, opening 54 is larger thanopening 56 but the relative size of the openings is not critical to theinvention and the openings 54, 56 may be the same size or opening 56larger than opening 54. Both openings 54, 56 should be at least as largeas the diameter of the golf ball 16 to be sued with driver 50 to enablethe golf ball 24 to pass through the opening 54 into the channel 52 andout of the channel 52 through opening 56. Thus, in use, the golfer wouldswing the driver 50 and ideally, momentarily capture the ball 24 in thechannel 52, but during the continuation of the stroke, the ball 24 wouldexit from the channel 52 through opening 56. In this embodiment,channels 18 are not required because the air in front of the ball 24would simply pass through the opening 56.

FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a golfdriver in accordance with the invention which is designated generally as60 and is very similar to golf driver 8 shown in FIGS. 1-3 with theexception of a ball removal mechanism. The ball removal mechanismcomprises a pin 62 that is movably fixed to a body of the driver 60, ina manner known to those in the movable pin art. The pin 62 extendsthrough a channel 64 in the body of the driver 60 and ideally ispositioned so that it will be behind the ball 24 when the ball ispresent in the cavity 16. As such, pushing the pin 62 inward causes theball 24 to be ejected from the cavity 16. Pin 62 includes a head 66 thatis dimensioned to prevent its passage through the channel 64 and a shaft68 that moves within the channel 64. The length of the shaft 68determines the extent to which the head 66 of the pin 62 will projectbeyond the side or rear face 20 of the driver 60.

Pin 62 may be pushed or urged rearward to the position shown in FIG. 9during the swing and/or by the entry of the ball 24 into the cavity 16.Then, to remove the ball 24 from the cavity 16, the golfer presses thepin 62 inward, in the direction of arrow A, causing ejection of the ball24 from the cavity 16.

Variable positions and configurations of the pin are envisioned. Thus,the invention encompasses generally a depressible pin that may be movedto one position prior to or during the swing when the ball is notpresent in the cavity and after the ball is present in the cavity as aresult of the swing, the pin is moved to another position in which thepin itself or a member connected thereto exerts force against the ball24 to eject it from the cavity 16.

Referring now to FIGS. 10 and 11, another embodiment of a driver inaccordance with the invention is designated generally as 70 and includesa different mechanism to enable easy removal of the ball 24 from thecavity 16. Specifically, the ball removal mechanism comprises a fingergroove 72 opening from the front face 12 of the driver 70 to positionproximate or at the rear of the cavity 16 (see FIG. 11). The fingergroove 72 is dimensioned to enable the golfer to stick their fingerthrough the finger groove 72 to reach the rear of the cavity 16 andexert an outward force against the ball 24 from the rear to therebycause removal of the ball 24 from the cavity 16.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show two different collars 74, 76 that are designed forinsertion into the cavity 16 of any of the embodiments of the golfdriver described above to the extent possible. Collars 74, 76, whenplaced into the cavity 16, serve to reduce the size of the opening 14through which the ball can pass. Each collar 74, 76 has the same outerdimensions and includes an opening 78, 80, respectively, that is thesame as or larger than the diameter of the ball 24 to enable the ball 24to pass therethrough. However, the size of the openings 78, 80 variesfrom one collar to the next. That is, there may be any number ofcollars, more than the two as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, with each havinga different size interior opening.

In use, a golfer may decide to start using driver 8 without a collar inthe cavity to provide the largest size opening 14. Then, as the golferadvances and improves their hand/eye coordination using the driver 8,they would insert a collar having the largest interior opening, e.g.,collar 74. This makes it a little more difficult to capture the ball 24in the cavity 16. Retention of the collar 74 in the cavity 16 isprovided, for example, by sizing the outer dimension of the collar 74 tofit snugly into the cavity 16. Other means for retaining the collar 74in the cavity 16 may also be provided and are considered to be part ofthe invention.

Thereafter, as the golfer continues to improve their hand/eyecoordination using driver 8, they could remove collar 74 and insertcollar 76, which has a smaller opening 80 than opening 78 in collar 74.This makes capturing the ball 24 in the cavity even more difficult thanwith collar 74. This process of reducing the size of the opening 14 viainsertion of different collars can continue until the golfer issatisfied with their swing.

As such, a set of collars 74, 76 would be manufactured, with each havingsubstantially the same outer dimensions but each with a different sizeopening. The collars may be marked to indicate the size of the openingto thereby enable a golfer to sequentially reduce the size of theopening as their use of the driver 8, and hand/eye coordination,improves.

In another embodiment of the invention, inside the head of the driverthere is a foam that traps the ball and absorbs shock from constant use.The foam may be any type of shock-absorbing foam known to those skilledin the art, including, but not limited to, polyurethane foam (any one ofthe several hundred formulations), silica gel, bioflex hybrid foam,polyethylene cell foam and military foam. The foam may be present in thecavity 16 or define the cavity 16 itself.

While prior art golf clubs exist with cavities in the head, the cavitiesof these golf clubs are invariably covered by a plate when the golf clubis used, with the plate having a particular structure to improve the useof the golf club. The golf driver 8 in accordance with the inventiondoes not include any structure that covers the opening 14 in the frontface 12, nor are any mechanisms provided to enable attachment of a plateor other such structure to cover the opening or interpose materialbetween the front of the head 8 and the cavity 16.

Moreover, prior art golf clubs exist that have cavities that open to aface other than the front face, such as those that have a cavity in thebottom or rear face designed to enable a golf ball to be picked up upona specific handling of the golf club. These cavities are intentionallydesigned not to have any impact on the golfer's swing. As such, thesegolf clubs cannot teach the invention wherein a cavity is provided withthe intent to capture a golf ball during a swing with the capture of thegolf ball being indicative of a proper or accurate swing.

The embodiments of the invention described above thereby provide a newgolf driver that can be used to develop eye contact as well as a newmethod for practicing swinging a driver for golf. Moreover, the driveris adaptive, when used with the collars, in that it can be adjustedbased on the golfer's skill level.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changesand modifications may be made without departing from the invention inits broader aspects, and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims isto cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the truespirit and scope of the invention.

1. A golf club, comprising: a head having a front, ball-striking surfaceand a cavity arranged to retain therein a ball; said front surfaceincluding an opening communicating with said cavity and arranged apartfrom peripheral edges of said front face such that an annular portion ofsaid front face surrounds said opening, said opening having a sizelarger than a cross-sectional size or diameter of the ball, said headlacking structure in front of said opening such that when the golf clubis swung against a ball, passage of the ball through said opening intosaid cavity is used to evaluate the swinging of the golf club.
 2. Thegolf club of claim 1, wherein said cavity is configured to preventmovement of the ball therefrom after capture during the swing,
 3. Thegolf club of claim 1, wherein said head further comprises a rear face, aside face and at least one channel leading from said cavity to said rearface or to said side face to allow flow of air from said cavity duringthe swing.
 4. The golf club of claim 3, wherein said at least onechannel comprises a plurality of channels.
 5. The golf club of claim 1,wherein said opening is positioned on said front face in a sweet spot ofsaid head determined based on dimensions of said head.
 6. The golf clubof claim 1, wherein said cavity comprises an opening in a rear surfaceof said head having a size the same as or larger than a diameter of theball to thereby constitute a through channel through which the ballpasses.
 7. The golf club of claim 1, further comprising a ball removalmechanism that enables removal of the ball from said cavity.
 8. The golfclub of claim 7, wherein said ball removal mechanism comprises a pair offold-out doors pivotally or hingedly connected to said body at saidfront surface of said head, said fold-out doors being configured topivot or swing outward thereby increasing access to said cavity and theball when present therein.
 9. The golf club of claim 7, wherein saidball removal mechanism comprises a flip door pivotally or hingedlyconnected to said body at a top of said head, said flip door beingconfigured to flip up to enable release of the ball when present in saidcavity.
 10. The golf club of claim 7, wherein said ball removalmechanism comprises a pin that is movable to cause ejection of the ballfrom said cavity.
 11. The golf club of claim 10, wherein said pinextends though a channel to a rear surface of said head.
 12. The golfclub of claim 7, wherein said ball removal mechanism comprises a fingergroove opening from said front surface to position proximate or at arear of said cavity.
 13. In combination, the golf club of claim 1 andone of a plurality of different collars, said collars have an outerdimension to enable a snug fit into said cavity, said collars havingdifferent size openings all of which are larger than a diameter of theball, whereby alternative insertion of said collars into said cavityprovides for different size openings.
 14. In combination, the golf clubof claim 1 and a ball, said ball being made substantially entirely of asoft material to prevent damage to objects if during the swing, saidannular portion of said front face contacts said ball and propels saidball forward.
 15. A method for practicing swinging of a golf club anddeveloping golfing skills, comprising: providing a golf club including ahead having a front, ball-striking surface and a cavity arranged toretain therein a ball, the front surface including an openingcommunicating with the cavity and arranged apart from peripheral edgesof the front face such that an annular portion of the front facesurrounds the opening; dimensioning the opening to be larger than across-sectional size of the ball; placing a ball on a support; thenswinging the golf club while attempting to capture the ball in thecavity; and evaluating the swing of the golf club based on whether theball was captured in the cavity or not or developing golfing skills byrepeatedly swinging the golf club white attempting to capture the ballin the cavity.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising adjustingparameters of a subsequent swing based on the evaluation of the swingwhen the ball is not captured in the cavity.
 17. The method of claim 15,further comprising positioning the opening on the front face in a sweetspot of the head determined based on dimensions of the head.
 18. Themethod of claim 15, further comprising providing the head with a ballremoval mechanism to facilitate removal of the ball from the cavityafter its capture.
 19. The method of claim 15, further comprisingconfiguring the cavity to prevent movement of the ball therefrom aftercapture during the swing.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein the headfurther comprises a rear face, a side face and at least one channelleading from the cavity to the rear face or to the side face to allowflow of air from the cavity during the swing.